HAMMOND, La. – The Southland Conference-leading Southeastern Louisiana baseball team hosts McNeese State Friday through Sunday in a matchup featuring two of the conference's top teams.
Southeastern (27-11, 11-4 Southland) returns to conference play after traveling to Utah this past weekend. McNeese (22-15, 12-6 Southland) enters the series one-half game behind the Lions in the Southland standings.
The series opener is a $5 Friday contest. All adult general admission tickets are only $5. Along with the reduced ticket price, the concession stand will offer a combo special for $5.
Saturday's game will feature Bingo at the Ballpark. Baseball-themed bingo cards will be given out to all fans and students. Prizes will be awarded to the first 20 fans with bingo. The first participant to produce an "S" on their bingo card will receive $100.
Sunday is Academy Family Day. A bounce house inflatable will be set up outside of left field for all of the smaller Southeastern fans along with family-friendly promotions going on throughout the game.
In addition to Family Day, Southeastern Baseball has partnered with Raising Cane's and the campus chapter of Theta Phi Alpha sorority to Knock Cancer Out of the Park on Sunday.
Theta Phi Alpha will be accepting donations during the series finale to help with cost of cancer treatments for Southeastern student Paige Hickman. A former Diamond Girl, Hickman was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma this past summer. A limited supply of Knock Cancer Out of the Park T-shirts will be available for $15.
Fans are encouraged to stop by either Hammond location of Raising Cane's on Sunday as 15% of the day's profits will be donated to help defray the cost of Hickman's treatments.
All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and through either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone apps. Fans can also keep up with the action through live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. Streaming video is available on LionVision, Southeastern's subscription-based video stream. Links for audio, video, stats, tickets and promotions are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern is coming off a 5-3 road win over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette this past Tuesday.
Kevin Carr (.363),
Jacob Seward (.343),
Brett Hoffman (.333) and
Daniel Midyett (.326) lead Southeastern at the plate. Carr's batting average also leads the Southland Conference. Midyett's six home runs and 32 RBIs lead the conference as well. Seward has scored a conference-leading 33 runs and owns a team-best 12 stolen bases.
The Lions are hitting a conference-best .297 as a team and have been successful on 57-of-79 stolen base attempts, also tops in the conference. The pitching staff has compiled a 3.84 ERA, fanning a Southland-leading 316 batters in 333 innings pitched.
Tate Scioneaux (5-2, 3.96), a junior right-hander from Reserve, Louisiana, draws the series opening nod for Southeastern. He matches up with fellow righty Kaleb Fontenot (5-3, 3.10) for the Cowboys.
The Lions will send junior right-hander
Jake Johnson (6-1, 3.14) to the mound on Saturday against McNeese right-hander Ethan Stremmel (3-3, 3.94).
Southpaw
Kyle Cedotal (4-2, 1.83), a junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, draws the starting nod for Southeastern in Sunday's series finale against Poke right-hander Bryce Kingsley (3-3, 2.87).
Joe Provenzano (.357), Andrew Guillotte (.333), Connor Lloyd (.333) and James Cantu (.326) lead McNeese at the plate. Connor Crane and Lucas Quary have each hit six home runs, tying Midyett for the conference lead. Crane leads the Pokes with 27 RBIs. Guillotte's 15 stolen bases lead the squad and are the second-most in the Southland.
The Cowboys are hitting .285 as a team with a conference leading 22 home runs. The have been successful on 39-of-61 stolen base attempts. The pitching staff has compiled a 3.24 ERA, fanning 306 batters in 341.2 innings pitched.
McNeese, which had its game Tuesday against LSU-Alexandria postponed by rain, took 2-of-3 this past weekend from Lamar in Southland action.
General admission tickets to the final two games of the series are $8 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 3-12). Children younger than three are admitted free with a paying adult. Southeastern students are also admitted free with their university ID card.
The Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office is located in Room 107 of the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics. For more information, contact the ticket office at (985) 549-5466 or 1-866-LION-TIX. Ticket office hours are 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Fridays.
The box office at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens one hour before first pitch. Individual game tickets may also be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets.
Southeastern wraps up the four-game homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in a contest that will be televised regionally by Cox Sports Television and carried nationally on ESPN3 (outside CST's coverage area only).
Southeastern Louisiana Lions (27-11, 11-4 Southland) vs. McNeese State Cowboys (22-15, 12-6 Southland)DATES / TIMESFriday, April 17 – 6 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, April 18 – 2 p.m. (CT)
Sunday, April 19 – 1 p.m. (CT)
STADIUMPat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field (Hammond, Louisiana)
RADIO• KSLU, 90.9 FM
• Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to first pitch
INTERNET / SMARTPHONE• www.LionSports.net – live audio and stats
• KSLU iPhone app, TuneIn Radio app
PITCHING MATCHUPGame 1MCN – Junior RHP Kaleb Fontenot (5-3, 3.10) vs.
SLU – Junior RHP
Tate Scioneaux (5-2, 3.96)
Game 2MCN – Junior RHP Ethan Stremmel (3-3, 3.94) vs.
SLU – Junior RHP
Jake Johnson (6-1, 3.14)
Game 3MCN – Junior RHP Bryce Kingsley (3-3, 2.87) vs.
SLU – Junior LHP
Kyle Cedotal (4-2, 1.83)
